Of Helpful Best Friends and Ideal Birthdays
by Wish Upon Dreams
Summary: AU. In which Kaneki is not turned into a half-ghoul and gets his dream bookstore date with the pretty waitress from Anteiku.


**Summary**: AU. In which Kaneki is not turned into a half-ghoul and gets his dream bookstore date with the pretty waitress from Anteiku.

**Authors Note**:

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support I've received for the first chapter of my other story "Mending a Broken Wing". Thank you very much everyone! Here's a surprise thank you oneshot fanfic for everyone. It's much more lighthearted than the other one and features many references to my favorite parts of the manga. Hope you enjoy!

I'm just a fan of Tokyo Ghoul borrowing the characters to write this fanfic. Please note that the characters might have slipped a bit out of character at times but I tried my hardest to make them stay in character within this AU fic. Thank you to all those who read this story!

xxxxx

The weather was frigid and yet the atmosphere was cheery. Seasons greetings filled the air accompanied by excited shouts from students free from classes for the holidays.

"Exams are finally over and Christmas break is here!"

Kaneki sighed as he watched his best friend pump his arms up and down successively in a show of celebration. People around the general vicinity stopped to look over curiously at them.

"Hide, you're too loud - people are beginning to stare."

It was true. A couple was glaring at them from afar and a group of girls giggled as they walked past them. Hide was as unconcerned about that fact as ever though.

"Kaneki, come on man," he said undeterred, "let's go celebrate finishing another semester by getting a bite to eat. We'll go to Big Girl for some burgers like always. What do you say?"

Before Kaneki could even reply, Hide swung his arm around his shoulders and they were off.

"Alright, but next time let's go to Anteiku - it's much quieter there. It's also very cozy and it gives me an area other than my place where I can read in peace."

That wasn't the only reason of course.

Hide knew exactly why Kaneki wanted to go there; he wasn't oblivious to his best friend's awkward and embarrassed behavior whenever they were in the cafe. He had been accompanying his best friend to the cafe for the past 6 months now and Hide knew his pal had been frequenting the place for an even longer period of time.

"The company there isn't too bad either. The waitress is just lovely, isn't she Kaneki?" Hide said with a teasing tone present in his voice, "She ran away pretty quickly last time though. What was her name again? Kirisawa-san?"

"Hide! That was because you asked her if she was dating anyone." The reply from Kaneki was quick and defensive, "Of course she would run away - you made her really nervous by completely springing it on her. Next time you might get us kicked out of the cafe and you already know her name is Kirishima-san."

"Oh? I highly doubt they would kick us out when you're a regular. Also, what is this? I could have sworn that you called her Touka-chan the last time we went. Are you hiding something from me Kaneki? Here I was thinking that I was your best bud too." Hide gave his best upset face and pouted outwardly but was inwardly grinning.

Hide was awarded with Kaneki's cheeks flushing a reddish color, followed by his eyes flicking back and forth and his left hand lifting to touch his chin as he quickly shook his head in the negative.

_Aha! There it is - that habit of Kaneki's where he touches his chin is such a giveaway._

Now you should understand that Hide takes his role as a best friend very seriously.

With Kaneki's birthday coming up fast, Hide had originally planned to only get him a first edition copy of his favorite book but now, with this new information which seemed to confirm his theory, he changed his mind. Hide knew just what he should do.

Just recently, they had been talking about their ideal dates and Kaneki had mentioned that his dream date would be to take the person he likes out to a bookstore.

The last time Kaneki had been this interested in another person had been way back when they were in high school and he had never had the guts to confess. Yoshikawa had been a pretty girl, quite intelligent and a bit quiet which had been enough to succeed in capturing his attention.

_Not that I helped out too much though,_ Hide thought to himself recalling how he had inadvertently let slip Kaneki's little crush in front of the party involved. He hadn't been able to help himself - Kaneki's staring had been too obvious.

Following that little event, discussions with said girl had been awkward for a while. This had caused Kaneki to be annoyed at him for a couple of days but Hide knew that if she had been the one destined for his best friend then they would have eventually gotten together.

After all, when everything was said and done, Hide was what you would call a natural observer and had always been good at figuring other people out very well – especially when it involved anything to do with his best friend.

That night, as Hide lay in his bed, he realized that he would have to quickly set his little plan in motion if his gift was going to be delivered on time.

_Kaneki's definitely very easy to read. Kirishima Touka on the other hand might be a bit of a challenge to figure out._

With that thought in mind he decided that he would have to make his way to the cafe by himself the next day.

"Here's to hoping Kaneki isn't there when I go tomorrow. Plan Ideal birthday is a go!"

xxxxx

All bundled up in cozy clothes and a scarf, Hide entered Anteiku with a bright smile on his face.

Glancing around the small cafe he spotted Touka at a table reading a textbook and grumbling under her breath.

He was glad that he seemed to have made it before her shift was to start.

She had a scowl on her face and if he hadn't heard about how she had quite a different persona when she wasn't working from Kaneki earlier on, then he might have been a bit shocked having only ever seen her welcoming aura.

"Kirishima-san! It's great to see you today. How do I look in this scarf?" He quickly spun himself around in a circle.

An annoyed glare was shot in his direction before the look turned into an awkward smile.

"Welcome Hide-san. That scarf is nice and a bright yellow – quite like the sun," she said in an attempt to appear welcoming.

"Thank you for the compliment! Kaneki actually gave me this scarf for my birthday." Hide replied ignoring her obvious discomfort – it was apparent that she felt awkward at doling out the compliment, "He said it suited my personality."

Hide didn't miss the twitch and softening of Touka's expression upon the mention of his friend.

"Oh?" A nonchalant turn of the head followed by," That guy is always coming here. I'm surprised he didn't come with you today."

"Actually, I didn't come today for some coffee." A short pause ensued before he continued, "There's something else I wanted to speak with you about."

Hide hid a smile as he saw her face pale slightly.

No doubt she was thinking that he was going to approach her about a date again. Her true personality was finally starting to show through her facade - a good thing given that normally people wouldn't relax around a person if they weren't comfortable with them. He wondered how much Kaneki might have told Touka about their days together as best friends.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you out or anything. It's actually about Kaneki."

Her defensive switch went up a notch along with her curiosity.

"What about him? What does that have to do with me? It's not like we're close or anything you know." Her reply was swift and she neglected to look straight at him, "He just likes to read at the cafe and help me with my literature homework sometimes when I'm on my breaks."

"I'll let you in on a secret - he considers you to be a friend of his." Hide said with a wink.

"Ah? Is that so…."

Widened eyes and slight reddening of the cheeks - Hide would have laughed aloud at her expression if it wouldn't blow his cover.

_Bingo! Gotcha Touka-chan._

"Anyways, I was wondering if you could ask him to a bookstore on the 20th of December."

"Why?" she asked with suspicion, "It's my day off you know."

"All the better - that day is his birthday! I'm able to celebrate it with him in the morning but I have a couple of things to do from the afternoon onwards that day and I don't want him to spend it alone. Please." Hide topped it off with his famous (according to him) pouting expression.

He saw her eyes cloud up with sadness and realized that she probably understood what it felt like to be alone on important occasions herself. Kaneki had mentioned that Touka's family was living overseas at the moment. He gave her a second to compose herself and turned back around when he heard a sigh which was followed by a hand to the forehead.

"I must be crazy but alright, I'll do it. It's not for you or him though – you got that sunshine boy. It just so happens that I need to get a book for my class and this will be a good opportunity for me to finally buy it." she uttered heatedly trying to justify her reason for agreeing to the meeting.

_Huh? Sunshine boy …I haven't heard that one before. She's a quite a witty one – I can see why Kaneki finds her interesting._

"Really? That's great. I assure you that you won't regret this." Hide decided to ignore her slip up of his apparent new nickname opting instead to quickly grasp her hand and shake it a couple of times.

"Enough, I get it already." Touka quickly tore her hand away from the grinning human male in front of her, "I'll ask him when he comes in next although I can't guarantee that he'll have that much fun hanging around with me on his birthday. By the way - why a bookstore? Never mind, you know what, I'm not sure I want to know. Now, if you're not going to buy anything then would you mind leaving? My shift is starting soon and I need to finish my homework and clean up a bit."

Hide nodded and with a shout of "remember the date is on December the 20th" left the shop, smiling to himself when he heard her reply of "it's not a date!"

_Mission accomplished! Now I just have to tell Kaneki that I'll be unavailable in the afternoon on his birthday. _

xxxxx

Kaneki Ken entered the cafe and sat down at his regular table just as he always did - with a book in one hand.

It was now December the 19th and Hide had agreed to go see a film (based on the popular novel "The Black Goat's Egg") with him a bit later that day since, unfortunately, Hide would not be available in the afternoon on his birthday.

He had been a bit disappointed but Kaneki was very understanding and at least they'd still be hanging out the morning of his birthday. His new plan was to buy a slice of cake for himself and curl up on his couch with a book to read.

He decided to ponder more on it later. For the moment, he'd continue reading his current book while waiting for his order to be taken.

He definitely did not expect what would happen next.

As an avid reader, it didn't take him that long for his surroundings to fade away as he got sucked into the mystery of the novel. He was so preoccupied that he failed to notice the figure trying to get his attention.

"Hey bookworm, should I get you the regular again today as well? Oi! Are you ignoring me?" Kaneki let the question slip by. The plot was getting more interesting and he believed it to be addressed to another customer until, out of nowhere, he was punched in the arm.

"Ouch! What the - that hurt!" Kaneki winced, dropping his book from the shock. Rubbing his sore arm he quickly turned around to face the culprit only to face an annoyed waitress, "Touka-chan, what was that for?"

"I called your name a couple of times but received no response and that was the only way that I could think of to get your attention", she said while avoiding the disapproving (yet knowing) looks shot in their direction by her coworkers. She knew she would be reprimanded by them later on for treating a regular customer in that manner.

"You seriously couldn't think of something a little better like tapping me on the shoulder or clearing your throat?" Kaneki asked half joking - she could punch quite hard!

She responded with a mumble that he couldn't quite hear before saying defensively in a louder voice, "I did it on impulse you know! It was a natural reaction."

"That was a natural reaction? Well, it sure makes me glad that I'm not on the receiving side of a punch when you actually mean it. I'm relieved that I'm not a fruit or else I'd be like the _fruit punch_ drink you serve at the cafe right now!" This time his joke was rewarded with a scowl.

"You just had to didn't you? Although I guess I should be used to it by now." She turned around so he would be unable to see the small smile on her face – that joke had been way too _silly_ for her.

From the corner of her eye she could see her co-worker, Irimi-san, raise her eyebrows and look between the two of them. Touka decided she didn't like the twinkle in Irimi-san's eyes as she did so and turned back around to face Kaneki in order to avoid it.

"Oh, come on, I know you love my puns. Last time it only _touka_ minute before you got annoyed so I must be getting better."

A raised eyebrow accompanied his statement.

She was really starting to regret introducing Hinami to Kaneki now. Although she supposed that she wouldn't have been able to avoid it. They both shared a love of books after all.

At the beginning, Hinami had been wary of him but the minute that she had seen Kaneki helping her decipher a paragraph in one of her textbooks, she had bounded over in interest.

These days it wasn't rare for Touka to come in for her shift and see them sitting at their regular table with a pile of books. She had been glad that Hinami had been coming out of her shell but now she was slightly jealous – Hinami seemed to idolize her Kaneki onii-chan more than her these days. Touka couldn't really blame her for that though.

Even though Touka knew of their love of all types of books, she still wished that Hinami hadn't found that old joke book the other day when they had visited the bookstore.

After buying it, Hinami had asked her Kaneki onii-chan to help her read some of it and had then let him borrow it for a couple of days. He had ended up speed-reading through it himself and that was how she now found herself in this situation.

"Did you just use my name to make a pun?" she asked incredulously.

"Not my best, I admit, but I thought it was only fair since you called me a bookworm. I've never heard that one from you before so I didn't know that you were addressing me or else I would have answered", he replied seriously.

"I just wanted to try out a nickname and that was the first one that I could think of that fits you. Got a problem with it?"

"Um, I guess not, although it may take some getting used to. I'm accustomed to hearing you call me Kan-", he was cut off mid-sentence.

"Good, bookworm it is then", she said with a mischievous smile deciding to tease him with the nickname for the rest of the day.

Kaneki had to hold back a groan. Sometimes he couldn't be sure what he had gotten himself into.

A cough in the background interrupted their conversation. Koma-san, another one of her co-workers, was gesturing for her to hurry up. It seemed like the shop was getting busier and there was no more time for a brief chat.

"Right, now then, is it going to be your regular order again today bookworm?" she said taking out her paper pad to write down his order.

"Of course – you know I really like your latte art Touka-chan."

"Alright then, I'll just go and make it right now." She hurried off trying to keep her embarrassment at the compliment at bay.

Kaneki watched her from afar as she vigorously shook her head at something Koma-san, who was in the midst of fixing his necktie, asked her while she prepared his order.

It only took a couple of minutes before he was awarded with a latte with the foam in the shape of a bunny. It was the signature drawing she applied to those who ordered the item from her.

He thanked her and gave her a smile as she left to go get the orders from the other customers. He was thus confused when she made her way back to his table a couple of minutes later.

"Listen, are you free tomorrow? I need to go to the bookstore to pick up a book for my class and I thought, since I would be there already, that I might get another book for Hinami as she's read all the ones she already has." She was facing away from him and rambling at this point but she kept going, "My dilemma is that I don't know which ones are interesting and since you _are_ a bookworm I was thinking that you'd be interested in helping me pick one out."

She received no response.

Annoyed now, she turned to face him, "So? Hurry up, what's your ans-", only to stop abruptly upon looking at him.

Kaneki was sure his face had a nice pink tinge to it but he couldn't believe it.

While it was true that he had imagined a scene like this happening many times in his head, he didn't think it would actually happen in real life.

Then again, she probably didn't consider it a date but he would take it. It's not every day that a woman as beautiful as Touka invited him out to a bookstore.

He felt like pinching himself to make sure he was actually awake.

He would definitely have to tell Hide when he met him for the movie in a couple of hours.

"Well? I don't have all day here – you're going to get me into trouble." She was fidgeting now and couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Sure! Um, I'm meeting with Hide earlier in the morning but I should be available in the afternoon", he replied still in disbelief.

"Alright then, we'll meet at the main bookstore downtown at 5 pm tomorrow. Don't be late!" she informed him and rushed off to help the other customers before he could say anything else.

He quickly finished his latte and glanced in her direction once more - just in time to see her elbowing Irimi-san who sent a knowing wink in his direction before he left.

Kaneki shook his head and grinned. Touka-chan was definitely one of a kind.

xxxxx

Hide grinned when he heard about what had happened earlier that day at Anteiku.

Kaneki was chattering to him a mile a minute and Hide was genuinely glad for his friend.

"Hey! What's this? How come you don't get this excited when we hang out? I think I'm becoming a bit envious of Touka-chan", he said with a big grin on his face, "Little Kaneki Ken has grown up and is going out on his dream date with someone."

"Hide, you don't need to be envious – you're still my best friend whom I've known since I was little and we hang out all the time. Nobody can displace you from that role in my life. It's probably not even a date anyways." He suddenly seemed to deflate, " In fact I'm probably just being excited all by myself. She probably just sees me as a silly little bookworm who drops by the cafe for her lattes."

Hide took that as his cue to lighten the atmosphere a little (it was getting way to sombre for him).

"I don't think that's true at all. She's not the type of person who would ask you to accompany her unless she feels comfortable around you. I think she definitely sees you as a friend but tomorrow you'll have a chance to turn it into something more. I'll give you a good piece of advice for tomorrow - it's from your best friend so make sure to heed it." He motioned for Kaneki to come closer before leaning in and whispering, " The best thing you can do with Kirishima-san is be yourself."

"Thanks Hide, I needed that." Hide was relieved to see him go back to his previous excited attitude.

"Anytime, now, let's finish eating - you have a really big day ahead of you tomorrow."

xxxxx

Kaneki woke up early that morning feeling very nervous. In fact, he was so nervous that he was having trouble eating his breakfast. It felt like time was moving very slowly. He was lucky that Hide was coming over really soon, that would take his mind off of things.

As expected, once Hide came over, time seemed to speed up. First, he unwrapped Hide's gift – a first edition copy of an old classic that he liked and then they ate burgers for lunch. They were in the middle of talking about the Christmas tree that had been put up near the Kamii University campus when Hide stopped to look at the time.

"Well, would you look at that – seems like time's up and I should be going." Hide gave Kaneki a reassuring grin while tying up the shoelaces on his sneakers, "Don't worry, you'll be fine and don't forget my advice."

With one last wave goodbye, Hide left.

xxxxx

It was now 5:15 pm and Kaneki had been waiting for Touka for the past 45 minutes. He had come extra early and had not expected Touka to be late. Next time he would definitely come a bit later.

"At least, I hope there's a next time", he muttered under his breath.

He was startled by a hand ruffling his hair from behind. Spinning around he was surprised at how close Touka was to him. From this distance he was able to see the eye that she always kept hidden with the help of her hair.

"What was that for?" he asked her, looking away before attempting to flatten out his hair and blushing at his thoughts.

It was only after she moved back a little bit that he felt that it was safe to look at her again.

"Well I remembered what you said about not wanting to be punched in the arm again and thought this was better. Besides, this ruffled hair look suits you." Now it was her turn to feel awkward, "It's very different from your normal look. Anyways, let's get a move on."

The bookstore was crowded just as he had expected and they had to stick close together in the shop. He was suddenly really glad that it was close to Christmas.

He watched her pick up a book on genetics from off a shelf before she turned to face him.

"Ok. I've got the book I need for class. Now, let's find a book for Hinami", she voiced aloud before gesturing to the shelves, "Lead the way – I'm sure you know this place very well."

Kaneki had anticipated this happening and had even brought a list of books that he thought Hinami might like with him.

Touka watched Kaneki as they walked through the different aisles. He was very animated when he talked about the many books he picked out. She didn't think she was very helpful since she had never read the books herself and so couldn't contribute as much to the discussion (even though she tried) but he was laughing and seemed like he was enjoying himself so she was glad.

They were rounding a corner when he unexpectedly stopped. She watched him take out a book and look at it with wide eyes.

"This one isn't in print anymore, I'm surprised they have it", he explained at her inquiring look, "My mom loved to read it and she said it was one of my dad's favorites. It's really good – I don't own it myself but I did read it at the library once."

She picked it up and flipped through it quickly.

"Well, even though I'm not the best at choosing, I do trust your opinion and so I'll put this into the pile of ones to choose from", she said before they continued to the next aisle.

They finished walking around the store, picking up a couple more books here and there to add to the "maybe" pile. She was lucky in the last couple of sections, there had been some books that she had been semi-familiar with and she had been able to share in some of his enthusiasm.

They had finally decided on the book for Hinami (a fairly new one that, according to Kaneki, would soon become popular) and began to put the rest of the books back on the shelves.

She watched Kaneki sigh as he put the book that his parents apparently loved back on the shelf. When she asked why he didn't buy it for himself, he explained that he had already bought a lot of books earlier on that week.

"I'll wait a bit before I buy it – hopefully it'll still be here. If not, I guess there's always the library."

She personally thought that his reasoning was so stupid. He obviously really wanted to get it and would definitely regret it later if he found out it wasn't there anymore when he returned to buy it.

With this, Touka had her mind made up.

"Kaneki, wait outside while I buy the books. There's no point in you waiting in line with me if I'm the only one buying. Trust me, it won't take long."

He acquiesced and went outside.

When she was sure he was gone she went back to the shelf and picked up the book before heading back in line.

She was done in 10 minutes and quickly joined him outside where it had just started snowing.

Since it was already dark out, Kaneki offered to walk her home. She accepted his offer, not because she was scared of being attacked (she could take care of herself), but because she had yet to give him his gift.

They arrived at her place way too quickly.

"Well, I guess I should say thanks for today", she said shuffling her shoes in the fresh layer of snow, "It wasn't that bad of an adventure given that it was in a bookstore. I'll punch you if you tell anyone I said that though. I'll let Hinami know that you helped pick out the book."

"Not at all, thanks for inviting me and don't worry I won't tell anyone that you had fun at a bookstore", he said teasingly, "But seriously, I had a really fun time."

There was a moment of comfortable silence and Kaneki had resorted to looking at the snow that was falling around them when, all of a sudden, he felt pressure on his arm.

In his hand rested a bag.

He turned to look quizzically at Touka who gestured at him to open it.

The bag contained the book he had wanted to buy and a birthday card.

"Happy birthday Kaneki", she said when he looked back up at her.

"But… I never told you. How did you know?"

"You have your best friend to thank when you next see him. Also, we should do this again - next time it's your turn to choose where to go." She shot him a playful smirk before waving goodbye and heading into her place.

xxxxx

Kaneki was dreaming, of that he was sure. He was only a few blocks away from his apartment when a very familiar voice brought him back to reality.

"Who knew tracking devices could be so handy."

Kaneki whirled around to spot his best friend sitting on a bench.

"Hide, were you following us the whole time?"

"Nah, I just came at the very end once you left the bookstore. You always walk past this park on the way home. I knew you would offer to walk her home so I decided to wait here for you – I didn't want to interrupt anything." Hide explained waggling his eyebrows.

Kaneki ignored the blatant innuendo.

"Touka-chan told me that you're the one who pretty much set this whole thing up by informing her about my birthday and so I just wanted to say thanks."

"No problem, you are my best friend you know." Hide said, clapping him on the back and shooting him a wide grin, "Now let's go home."

Kaneki was just starting to show Hide the book that he had received from Touka-chan when he paused mid-motion at what his friend said next.

"I wonder what awesome surprise I'll get for my birthday this year."

Kaneki gulped - he was never going to be able to top this one.


End file.
